Aerial lift systems, sometimes known as scissor lifts or hydraulic lifts are well known in the construction and utility repair trades. In general, these lift systems are designed to lift a worker as well as tools and materials to an elevated location where the worker can then perform some task such as installation, repair or removal of some structure or object.
Although very useful, these lifting systems have their limitations. One limitation is that it is generally desirable for the worker to have tools and materials secured when on the lift so that these items do not fall, creating a safety hazard to those below and near the lift system. Another limitation is that in general the amount of working space available for the worker, as well as for any tools and materials that person may need to perform their job, is limited. Improving the efficiency of tool and accessory storage on an aerial lift platform is highly desirable.
As a result, there is a need for accessories suitable for use with lift that allow a worker to safely carry tools and materials on the lift, while maximizing the convenience to the worker. There are several prior art solutions that have attempted to address the problems of safety and available space on a lift. For example, some workers wear a tool belt designed to provide easy access to necessary tools. While tool belts are useful in providing access to tools and preventing tools from being loose on the lift, they are nonetheless limiting in their effectiveness. In addition, in areas where government regulations require workers to wear safety harnesses when working on elevated platforms, tool belts become impractical as they continually interfere with the safety harness, in turn limiting worker mobility.
Even where harnesses are not required, depending on the nature of the work to be done, tool belts present other problems. For example, the needed tools may be heavy resulting in increased fatigue or even injury to a worker who is carrying such tools around all day long on a belt. In some cases, certain tools or other pieces of material or equipment may not fit in the space afforded by a typical tool belt. Similarly, tool belts may limit the mobility of the worker or adversely affect their balance, potentially creating a different type of hazard.
One prior art attempt to solve these problems is provided by U.S. Design Patent No. D675824 (Demore) that discloses a tool tray that fits in the corner of a lift platform. However, this design is limited by the fact that it mounts internally and as a result takes up platform space, limiting the abilities of the worker.
Others have designed various types of holders configured to attach to the outside of a lift platform railing member. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0187184 (Nasuti et al.) discloses a lift utility tray system that attaches to the side of a standard scissor lift platform. The disclosed system is designed to hold tools in individualized container structures and make them accessible to a worker. However, the disclosed design suffers from some serious and potentially dangerous limitations, the most obvious of which is that there is nothing to prevent the loss of a tool from the lift platform if the worker does not properly place the tool back into its particular holder.
Still another design, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0325992 (Keshock), discloses an aerial lift platform comprising a tray design to fit over the top railing member of a lift platform, and a brace, designed to abut a lower bar on the platform. The tray can be mounted inside or outside of the platform workspace. In addition, the brace is designed to swivel out of the way when not in use in order to provide easier transport of the tray. Despite the advantage of being mountable on the outside of the platform, this design also suffers from limitations, most notably the fact that the brace does not engage or otherwise secure the lower platform bar, resulting in the potential for the entire tray system to bounce in response to movement of the platform, or to slide along the top railing member. Similarly, the brace is not adjustable and so the system may not be readily adaptable to lift systems with differing spacing between upper and lower railing members on the platform.
As a result, there remains a need for a tool carrier system that can be secured to the outside railing member of a lift platform, which is adaptable for use with a wide range of lift platform configurations, and which can safely hold tools and other objects while providing easy access to a worker.